Band-cutter and feeder



(No Model.)

A. WEMPLE 8v Gr. W. SMITH.

BAND GUTTER AND FEEDER.

- Patented' Mar. 18, 1890.

E U07 naamw;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.`

ANDREIV VEMPLE AND GEORGE W. SMITH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

.BAND-.CUTTER AND FEEDER.

. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 423,582 dated March 18, 1890.

' Application filed December 13, I889. Serial No. 333,604. (No model.)

.To @ZZ whom/'it may cncerm- Be it known that we, ANDREW WEM'PLE and GEORGE W. SMITH, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have in-I grain-feeding and band-cutting ldevices for pended claims.

thrashing-machines The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and pointed out in the ap- In the accompanying drawings, illustrating our invention, Figure l shows in central longitudinalvertical section a grain-feeding apparatus embodying our invention,` supported in operative position upon a thrashingmachine, part of which latter machine is shown in side elevation in said figure. Fig. 2 is aplan View of the feeding device. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the same, taken upon lines 3 3, Fig. l. Fig. 4 is au enlarged detail section of the upper end of the end1ess-belt carrier forming part of the feed' ing device. Fig. 5 is anendview of aanged roller for aidingthe delivery of the bundle from the feeding `deviceto the machine. Fig.

6 is'a side view of the roller shown in Fig. 5.

As'shown in said drawings, Fig. 1, A indi-V cates a thrashing-machine, a part only of which appears inFig. 1 of said drawings.

B is a" trough composing the body or main frame of the feeding device, one end of which commonly rests upon the frame of the thrash` ing-machine when the carrier is in position for operation. The trough is herein shown as arranged in an inclined position; but it may be otherwise placed in practice, as found convenient or desirable. Said trough consists of a flat bottom B and sides Bsecured to the margins of the bottom and extending upwardly therefrom. y

The end of the trough remote from the thrashingmachine is closed by a transverse piece or end wall B3. Said lower end 'of the trough may be supported in anysuitable manner from the ground. As herein shown, it is sustained by meansof an axle C, having wheels C C', said axle being attached tothe lower ends of posts C2 C2, which are' pivoted at their upper ends to the frame, the posts being held in their vertical position by means of brace-rods c c.

b b. are additional side pieces attached to the sides B2 of the trough at the outer end-ofD the same, and b is an additional end piece forming an upward extension of the .crosspieceB, said parts b b b making the trough of greater depth at the point Where the bundles are deposited therein.

D is atran sverse shaft extending across the trough near the discharge end of the same, and D a similar shaft at the feed end ofthe trough. Said shafts are arranged in transverse slots or openings formed in the bottom B of the trough, and the shaft D is provided-with a plurality of small sprocket-wheels 0l d, while the shaft D is provided with pulleys.

E E E indicate a series of carrier-belts placed over the sprocket-wheels d' d and pulleys d d of the shafts D D. Said carrier-belts pass around that part of the bottom of the trough which is located between the shafts D and D', and the uppersurfaces of the rollers are in the same plane withthe top surface of the trough-bottom B', so that the belts rest and slide upon said bottom. The several belts are provided with a seriesof prongs or iingers e e, which extend 'upwardly from the parts of said belt which rest upon thebottom of the trough. y i ...For the purpose of sustaining the bundles free from contact with the belts themselves longitudinal strips F F, preferably of metal, are sustained over the bottom of the trough, said metal strips coming close to the fingers :e e at each side of the latter, so as to form l narrow slots through which said iin gers travel, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. At the up-v per end of the trough the strips,l F F are. bent or curved downwardly and attached to" a cross-piece B4, the curvature of the strips being less than that ofthe path of the fingers, so that said fingers e are withdrawn gradually. from the bundles as said fingers are carried around the shaft B in the movement of the belts. .l l

As a cheap, simple, and convenient conthe intermediate ones b2. ,In other words, the

' thicker strips b3 extend above the carrier-y efficient Aconstruction in the parts, the same.

is herein claimed fas a separate improvement.

.upper surfacesof the strips b3 extend considerably above the edges of thestrips b2. The upper surfaces ofthe thinner strips b2 are rarranged in line with the carrier-belts, which rest and slide upon the same, while the belts and serve to support the metal strips F, which are secured to the upper surfaces of said strips b3 and project at their edgesl beyond the same, so as to come close to the tin- 'gers and thereby form suitable narrow slots for 'the passage of said lingers.

The several longitudinal strips b2 b3 composingth'e bottom of the trough are herein shown as secured together by meansof transverse bolts b4 b4; but other connecting devices may be used in practica-as found convenient or desirable. l

It will of course be understood that as far 'as'thegeneral features of the invention are concerned the trough may be constructed otherwise than in the particular manner above described; but the particular construction illustrated is, as far as we know, a novel one, and, inasmuch as it possesses important advantages in laffording a cheap, simple, and

. Motion may be given to the carrier-belts in any convenient manner, 'the shaft D in the construction `illustrated being provided with a pulley D2,- over which may be placed a suitable drive-belt for turning the shaft.

For the purpose of aiding the discharge of the bundle from the upper end of @the feeding device a roller 'G is mounted in the bearings g g upon the sides B2 B2 of the trough, said roller being located over the strips F F a short distance above the same. Said roller Gis provided with a series of obliqu'ely-'arranged ribs or flanges g g, said ribs being V-sha-ped, as seen when the roller is viewed in .side elevation, Fig. 6, with the apex or point of the V directed forwardly, having reference to the direction of motion of the roller. The ribs or iianges thus arranged servev to open or spread the bundles, the bands of which are cut before reaching said roller, while at the same time carrying forward the grain past the end of the trough and allowing it to drop into the receptacle of the thrashe'r. rIhe opening orspreading of the bundles is caused by the points of angles of the flanges g g striking into or entering the middle part of the bundle, and thereby forcing the straw lout'- wardly and distributing it evenly across the width of the trough.

The advantage of spreading the bundle in the manner described is that :the straw is thereby delivered to the thrashing-machine in a flat and even layer, instead of being carried endwse over the knife.

l claimed as part of our invention.

thrown therein 'in the form of a thick bundle, as Awou'ld be the case were the bundle not broken up or separated in the manner described.

Forcutting the bands of the bundles as they are carried upwardly or toward the thrasher by the carrier-belts, as above described, means are provided as follows: His a cutting knife or blade mounted on the bottom of the trough y conveniently at a point near the upper end of the trough. The knife or cutter H, as herein shown, is stationary and secured to the bottom of the trough, having an inclined cuttingedge, which vse'vers the band as the bundle is As far as the other features of the invention are concerned,

however, the knife may be amovable one,and may be positively actuated, if desired. n The particular knife shown-is made of triangular form in side view, and is provided with flanges at its base, by which it is secured to the fla-t bottom of the trough by screws, bolts, or rivets; but the knife may be of other formk andmay be secured to the trough in any 'other man*- n'er, as foun-d convenient ordesirable in practice. Located over or ropposite the said knife H is a roller I, which is adapted to freely rotate, and which also has a bodily movement toward and\from lthe said knife. -To afford said bodily movement of the roller, the latter is herein shown as mounted upon a shaft I', having bearings in arms I2 I2, which are pivotally connected with the trough, the arms bein'g adapted to turn upon their pivots-as the roller is moved toward or from the knife. Said rol-ler I, in -cases where it may be found necessary, may be` driven by devices giving it a continu-ous rotary movement in a direction to aid the passage of the bundle beneath it. One convenientway of giving such rotary mo tion to the roller 'is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which the arms I2 I2 are pivotally supported upon the shaft D, `and said shaft is provided with va belt-pulley -Jyar- IOO ranged in the same plane with another belt-1 pulley J upon the shaft I of the roller I', a belt J2 being ,placed :over said pulleys .Tand J. In this construction the roller- I isdriven with the same shaft D by which motionis given to the carrier-belts, thereby greatly simplifyin g the construction of the'machine. This particular construction in the device for actu'- ating the said roller I is novel, and by reasonof the advantages gained thereby it is herein As far. as the general features of our invention are con cerned, however, we' do not wish to be limited to this particular feature of construction, inasmuch as the same general results may be obtained when the said roller I is otherwise actuated-as for instance, by a beltdriving gear independent of the devices which give motion to the chain belts of the roller.

We claim as our invention-a f l. A feeder or band-cutter comprising a carrier belt or belts, a knife kor cutter, and :a roller opposed to said,knife orcutter and to 423,582 i Y s the carrier belt or belts, substantially as described. v x

2. A feeder and band-cutter comprising a carrier belt or belts, a knife or cutter, and a roller arranged opposite-the knife oricutter andthe beltand movable bodily toward and from the same, substantially as described.

3. A feeder and band-cutter comprising a carrier belt or belts provided with prongs or fingers, supporting-strips for the bundle located above the belt and forming slots for the passage of the prongs or fingers, a knife or cutter located in the path of the bundle carried by the said belt or belts,`and a roller arranged opposite theknife and the said supporting-strips, substantially as described.

4. A feeder. and band-cutter comprising a carrier belt or belts, a knife or cutter for severing the band, a roller arranged opposite said knife or cutter and the belt and movable bodily toward and from the same, and means of giving rotary motion to said roller, substantially as described. 1

5. Azfe'eder and band-cutter comprising a carrier belt or belts, a revolving shaft pro-` Y vided with sprocket Wheels or pulleys supporting' and giving movement to said belt or belts, a knife or cutter for severing the bands,

a roller arranged opposite the knife or cutter and movable bodily toward and from the saine, swinging arms supporting said roller mounted concentrically with said shaft, and belt-pulleys upon the said shaft and roller, substantially as described.

6. A feeder and band-cutter comprising a carrier belt or belts provided with prongs or fingers, stationary 'supporting-strips located above the belts Aand forming slots for the said prongs or ngers, a knife or cutter for severing the bands mounted upon one of'said stationary strips, and a roller located opposite said knife or cutter and movable bodily to- Ward and from the same, substantially as described.

7. A feeding device comprising a trough the bottom of which is composed of a series of strips of unequal vertical thickness,a plurality of carrier-'belts provided with prongs and arranged to rest and travel'upon the thinner strips, and supporting-strips `for the `bundle secured to the upper surface of the Witnesses:

HARRY COBB-KENNEDY, IO. CLARENCE PooLE. p

prongs or fingers, substantiallyl 

